DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIPLEXED BIOLUMINESCENT CELL-BASED ASSAY WITH THE LUC GENE FROM LUCIOLA ITALICA FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT SCREENING OF CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUGS

摘要

The cDNA encoding the luciferase from the Italian firefly Luciola italica has been recently cloned and expressed in E, coli,1 The bioluminescence emission of the Italian firefly luciferase has a maximum at 566 nm at pH 7 8 and shows extended light emission decay kinetics. This new luciferase has been cloned in suitable vectors and expressed in E. coli and mammalian cells (HepG2) to explore its applicability as a reporter protein in whole-cell biosensors, non-invasive in vivo imaging and multiplexed assays. Diverse mutants have been also obtained by site-directed or random mutagenesis.